


Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Adult Content, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-21
Updated: 2006-03-21
Packaged: 2019-02-02 15:49:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12729552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: The team gates to a world that gives them bad dreams.





	Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

  
Author's notes: Disturbing dream images of violence, character deaths, and implied rape.  


* * *

Now I lay me down to sleep,  
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,   
If I should die before I wake,   
I pray the Lord my soul to take . . .

* * *

The music of the Stargate calls to those drifting on the sun-warmed breezes. Its vibrations signal the arrival of strangers. It has been so long since any have ventured here. The gathering wraiths wait silently as four figures step through the shimmering pool of light. They watch them walk across the rocky terrain towards the distant hills. Darkness descends and they move closer as the intruders create a fire. One of the strangers moves about as the other three crawl into little shelters. The shadows crowd around, reaching out to touch. They settle like a blanket over the sleepers. Others swarm over the standing figure, engulfing him in a darkness no firelight could ever pierce.

* * *

The alarms blare as we stumble down the ramp. Tense soldiers watch our every move as we lurch to a halt. We're back after only five hours from a two-day mission, dragging in looking like something the dog refused to dig up. One glance at our glazed expressions and General Hammond immediately ordered us to the infirmary. 

Dr. Fraiser pokes, prods and draws enough body fluids to fill a bathtub. After satisfying herself that she's exhausted all the tests in her arsenal, she sends us back to the General to debrief him on just what had gone wrong this time. 

We sit around the conference room table, draining cup after cup of strong coffee and staring blankly at the unopened folders in front of us. 

"Dr. Fraiser found no evidence of any alien substance in your work-ups. There was no sign of an infection, bacteria, or virus. MALP data indicated nothing harmful in the air on P4X-297." 

I force myself to look at the General as he speaks, but I keep seeing another face, hearing another voice. Suppressing a shudder, I jump up and make a beeline for the coffeepot. He watches me go, but doesn't comment. 

"No, sir," Carter says. "We didn't ingest anything indigenous, but something caused all of us to experience very vivid hallucinations while on the planet." She fidgets in her seat, turning her pen over and over in her hands. I take my seat, fresh coffee in hand. 

"Colonel, were these hallucinations so severe that you felt it was necessary to abort the mission?" 

"Yes, sir," I reply absently as I watch Carter shift in her seat. Her brow wrinkles in thought. From the grim look in her face, it isn't a pleasant one.

* * *

"Anything yet, Carter?" The Colonel's voice is pitched to carry across the ever-present noise. 

The hum of the machinery filling this vast chamber reverberates in my bones. It makes my teeth ache. My head throbs in time to the beat of its great mechanical heart. There is no escaping the deep vibrations, nowhere in this labyrinth of chambers that is free from its incessant pounding. 

"No, sir. I'm working on it." 

"Work faster. Damn it, we are running out of time," he calls from the other side of this huge room. I can't see him from here, but I know he's anxiously monitoring the massive panels located next to the Stargate. 

"I know that, sir. I'm doing the best I can," I call back. 

"Do better." His stern answer beats against my spirit as the machine beats against my brain. 

'Do better.' Better than what? I haven't been able to do anything yet. All around me alien machines click and whir. Panels flicker with colorful lights, chunky consoles beep with frenzied determination while monitors display flashing data in an indecipherable language. So many machines all linked and working together, but for what purpose? 

All we know is what our allies have told us. This place holds the key to turning back the invasion fleet heading for Earth. Nothing we possess, nothing our allies are willing to sacrifice, is enough to stop the Goa'uld. Like the Colonel said, we're running out of time. 

So here we are, desperately trying to wrest some meaning out of these damn machines. Something, anything to help us. Daniel and Teal'c are trying to make sense out of the information on the displays, to piece together the language of the mysterious engineers. The Colonel is keeping watch, both over us as we work and over the deteriorating situation on Earth. We are receiving updates via the MALP from the SGC as the Powers That Be scramble to come up with a plan to save our home. 

I want to scream. Frustration, anger, and fear are crowding out my ability to reason. I have to focus. I have to think! The intrusive throb of the machines keeps shattering my thoughts. 

Taking a deep breath of the oil-thick air, I push back the pounding. Closing my eyes, I try to envision the schematics I managed to pull from the depths of this computer, to make sense of the tangles of wire, pipes, and conduit that sprawl the length and breath of these caverns. Light, air, and comfortable temperatures are maintained within a planet with no atmosphere. Miles of corridors are hewn into solid rock linking one natural cavern to another, all filled with machines. There is no evidence of living quarters, no signs left behind of those who built this place or why. No sign of how this is supposed to help us. 

Okay, there has to be something I am overlooking. Let's go back to the-- 

"Sam, have you made any headway on the schematics?" Daniel appears from the shadow of a towering machine. He is carrying one of the flat scanners we found littering the chamber. Each appears to contain information on the machines, but none are in a recognizable language. 

"No. How are you guys doing on cracking the code?" 

"We're getting nowhere fast. Teal'c has never seen anything like it. It's completely alien from any Earth-based language. Without something to lead us in identifying the symbols, we aren't going to be able to get anything out of these." He holds up the device. "It's hopeless. We simply don't have a point of reference for deciphering this language -- if it is a language. It could be mathematical equations for all we know. There isn't anything I can do." 

"Don't say that, Daniel. We might be Earth's only chance. We have to find something." 

"Then it's all up to you." He shrugs and heads back into the shadows. 

Running my fingers through my hair, I look up to find the Colonel's gaze on me. I know he heard every word, despite the noise from the machines. I can see it in his eyes. He's expecting me to come up with a last minute save -- that one vital piece of information that will keep everyone on Earth safe. I turn away from his gaze. 

Clenching my teeth so hard my jaw hurts, I slam a fist onto the console in front of me. I want to yell, 'Don't you think I am giving this all I've got? I just can't make any sense out of this place. I can't do it!' I have got to get a hold of myself. I don't have time for this . . . Earth doesn't have time for this. I look at the monitor closest to me. Its surface is flashing with symbols and glyphs. I manipulate the toggles located on an adjoined panel. The information jumps and fades into one sequence of symbols after another. Blueprints whiz by. None of it makes any sense whatsoever. I lean over the monitor, trying to force it to give me what I want. There has to be something recognizable here. I have to keep looking. The throbbing of the machine keeps time with the flashing of the display. My eyes strain trying to take it in, to make sense out of what I am seeing. 

"Carter!" The Colonel's voice cuts through my concentration. His tone tells me something very bad is happening. I run across the cavern to join him at the MALP. Daniel and Teal'c hurry to join us. He doesn't have to say anything as we gather around. With one finger, he points to the tactical display. The single dot that represents Earth is completely surrounded by the thousands of tiny triangles that stand for the invasion fleet. 

We're too late. The Stargate's event horizon snaps shut, cutting off our line of information. We look at one another. 

"Carter, now would be the time to let us know how the hell this place is going to save our little corner of the universe." 

Everyone's gaze is on me. I can feel the weight of their expectation. I can taste their desperation. "I'm sorry, sir." 

He closes his eyes. When he opens them, the look in their brown depths is one I thought I'd never live to see, defeat. 

"Tell that to the people at home, Carter, because they're the ones who are going to be sorry."

* * *

"Did you notice anything unusual, anything at all?" General Hammond asks. 

"Not really, sir," I answer, still watching Carter. Her hands have gone still, one fist clenched around the pen. 

"I saw no threat," Teal'c volunteers. "Indeed, there did not appear to be any life in the vicinity of the Stargate." 

"No wildlife?" 

"No life at all. . ."

* * *

"Give Drey'ac and Ry'ac my best wishes, Teal'c." 

"I will do so, General Hammond." 

"Have a good visit. We'll see you back in a week." 

I bow my head in a gesture of respect. The event horizon has opened and I step through. The florescent light of the SGC is replaced by the permanent twilight of the dark side of P3X-797. I stride confidently through the forest until I reach the plains of the Land Of Light. In the distance, the brightly colored walls of the city beckon. I increase my pace so that I might reach the city gates as quickly as possible. It has been many months since I have seen my family and I am anxious to hold them in my arms again. 

As I approach the city walls, I am struck by the silence. It is more than the absence of birdsong, or even the lack of insect noise. It is time for the evening meal. There should be laughter and banter as shopkeepers close up and head home. I do not hear the sounds of children playing, or women calling to their families. Uneasy, I break into a run. Something is not right. 

I enter the city gates. Horror rises in my chest at the sight that greets me. The cobbled streets are littered with bodies. Baskets of fruit and bread are spilled on the ground where lifeless hands dropped them. Guards lie with their weapons beside them. I run as fast as I can through the twisted streets to reach the house given to my wife and son. I burst through the front door with their names on my lips only to find I have no breath to give utterance to those precious sounds. Shock steals the air from my lungs. They are lying on the floor in the center of the room. Ry'ac is hugged tightly against his mother's body, his face pressed against her chest. 

With no hope, I kneel and turn his face towards me. The flesh is cold. The grip of death has relaxed its hold on their bodies enough to let me turn my son's face to me. His eyes are shut. No breath escapes his partially opened mouth. He is as dead as his mother. I rock back on my heels and scream my pain. Surging to my feet, I grab a nearby table and hurl it against the wall. The noise of its shattering is deafening in the unnatural silence. My breath is ragged as I clench my fists. 

"What has happened here?" I demand of the empty house. 

Striving for control, I draw a deep breath. With shaking hands, I pull a coverlet off a divan and lay it over the still forms of my family. With a solemn promise to return and properly tend to the bodies, I stride from the suddenly confining room. 

Whatever killed my family seems to have affected the whole city. Everywhere I go, I find bodies. Animal life is ravaged as well. Birds, small pets, and beasts of burden lie alongside the bodies of their masters. The buildings are undamaged. There is no sign of foreigners or aliens amongst the dead. An airborne chemical or biological agent could have killed the entire population without scarring the city itself, but who released the killing agent, and why? What was there to gain from this act of terror? 

I must seek the assistance of the Taur'i to uncover the truth. First, however, the funeral rites of my loved ones must be performed. Twelve hours later, I am ready to leave. With a heavy heart, I turn toward the path that leads to the Stargate. I wipe smoke and tears from my cheeks as I slowly make my way. The funeral pyres have burned to glowing embers. Their spirits have been released. I hope with all my heart that they find peace. I swear with all my soul that I will avenge their deaths. 

I reach the DHD. I input the sequence to take me to Earth. The Stargate opens and I sent my GDO signal. To my dismay, I receive no answer. I send the code again, but no signal is received. Puzzled, I shut down the gate. I wait for a while, sinking into a light state of Kel-No-Reem to calm my agitated spirit. When I reactivate the gate, once again my signal is ignored. Worried and growing more so with each failed attempt, I am at a loss as to what to do. 

If the iris is closed, then it would be my death to step into the Stargate. If for some reason the iris is open, then something is terribly wrong. An irresistible compulsion wells up from the depth of my being and I find myself stepping through the shimmering wall of light. My feet hit the metal ramp with a loud clank. All around me are the crumpled corpses of soldiers within the blackened walls of the gate room. The air is filled with smoke and the stench of burned wiring. The observation window in the control room is shattered. Emergency lighting casts a hellish glow onto the scene. 

Taking the stairs two at a time, I almost stumble over the bodies of my teammates. They lie near the General. I do not need to touch them to know they are beyond help. The sound of muffled explosions can be heard through the wail of the sirens. The computer is ticking away the last remaining seconds before the self-destruct is triggered. 

It is over. I am too late.

* * *

"Teal'c?" The general's worried voice seems to penetrate the Jaffa's fugue. 

"There was no indication of intelligent life, General Hammond," Teal'c continues as if he had not zoned-out there for a minute. "The area around the Stargate appeared to be untouched by any signs of civilization. Yet there was a distinct feeling of being observed." 

"Teal'c is right, sir. We all felt it. We were joking about being uneasy as we made camp." Carter is back with us, the pen again moving from hand to hand. 

"Maybe P4X-297 wasn't as free of inhabitants as we thought," Daniel mumbles into his mug. 

"What do you mean, Dr. Jackson?" The general looks over at our archaeologist. 

"What if these hallucinations were something other than a byproduct of local flora? What if it was more like a warning?" 

"A warning . . . of what, from whom?" 

"A warning to leave the planet, to stay away. Maybe it's their means of defense. What if the inhabitants could influence dreams, cause nightmares severe enough to drive off any would-be attackers?" 

"I don't know, Daniel. There were no indications of life," Carter sounds skeptical. 

"Just because we didn't see them doesn't mean they weren't there. It makes sense. How else can you explain our having such horrific nightmares within minutes of falling asleep? Or Teal'c experiencing a nightmare while meditating? Jack was wide awake. Are you going to suggest he fell asleep while standing watch?" Daniel gestures toward me, but I notice he never actually looks my way. 

"All right, Dr. Jackson," General Hammond says, leaning forward and folding his hands on the table. "Let's say you're correct. I've seen enough strange things to keep an open mind. It's my experience that danger comes in many forms, some as innocuous as they are unexpected." 

"Yeah, unexpected. . ." Daniel frowns down at his coffee mug. He is apparently seeing more then dregs.

* * *

Got to keep going. Got to keep going. Got to keep going. If I can make it to the Stargate. . . 

Deep down, I know I'll never make it. He won't let me. This cat and mouse game has been going on long enough. Eventually he'll tire of it, and when he no longer finds it amusing, he'll kill me. 

What is the alternative? Give up, surrender? No, I have to try and make it to the Stargate. Got to keep going. 

So what can I do? Option one: head straight for the Stargate and hope for the best. Option two: give up and die. Option three: try to reason with him, find a way to communicate. Option four: kill him. 

There really is no choice. Only one option has any serious chance of success. If I want to get home again, I am going to have to kill him. 

Cautiously I edge around an outcropping of sandstone. In the dim morning light, I can just about make out the lay of the land before me. Relatively certain that I'm alone, I creep out from the shelter of the rock and make for the limited cover of some scrub pine on the other side of the meadow. The Stargate is just beyond those low hills. This terrain is ideal for ambushes with its scattered boulders, rock outcroppings, and hills riddled with caves. 

He knows the area and he knows my destination. He can trip me up six ways to Sunday and still be waiting for me at the DHD. He isn't going to let me get away, no matter what he said at the beginning of this little game of his. Even if I do manage to get past him to the Stargate, there's no way he'll let me live. What can I do? How can I turn this to my advantage? 

Setting up the trap takes a lot longer than I wanted, but I think I'm finally ready. I'm shaking from exhaustion, stress, and hunger. If it works out, I'll be home soon. If not, it won't matter. I settle back and pray for him to come. 

A dry rustle of grass is my first indication that he's nearby. The dual tones of the Goa'uld's voice cut through the night air. 

"Where are you, my pet? I am going to find you. You can't hide in the darkness. I can smell you. I can hear your breathing. Soon I will feel your pulse pounding under my hand. Come on, little rabbit, come to me and die." 

His taunting goes on for a while. I hold my breath, willing him to walk into the trap. I left enough traces to lead him into it. I tried to make it look like an attempt had been made to obliterate any tracks to avert suspicion. 

Is the ambush too obvious? Is he playing with me? 

Whap! The trap is sprung. I jump out of my hiding place and charge forward, club in hand. He is sprawled on the ground, pinned by three of the five stakes driven through his body. I raise the club for the killing blow, but I make a fatal mistake -- I look at his face. 

Can I do it? Can I kill him, bash his head in as he lies helpless on the ground? Or simply leave him here to die, make it to the Stargate and go home. Can I leave him to the scavengers? 

My hesitation is my undoing. His glowing eyes open and in a swift inhuman movement he is up, brushing the wooden stakes from his flesh as if they were mere twigs caught in the folds of his clothing. He grabs me by the throat, lifting me off the ground. I swing the club, but he knocks it from my fist. He laughs in my face, enjoying my struggle. 

"The game is over, my pet. I have taken pleasure from it. Perhaps we will play again. I can always revive your broken body -- as many times as I wish. Would you like that, my pet, to play forever?" That horrible laughter spills out of the abomination holding me. 

The hand tightens, cutting off my air, choking me, killing me. As my vision darkens, the face of my friend reemerges from the hated face of the Goa'uld. 

Goodbye, Jack.

* * *

"What now?" General Hammond turns to me. "Colonel, would you recommend another team be sent on a follow up mission?" 

"No, sir. I think whoever's living there doesn't want to be disturbed." "Good enough for me. Major, lock out the coordinates for P4X-297 from the computer. SG-1, go home and get some rest. You all look like you could use it." 

"Thank you, sir." I nod to the General as he takes his leave. 

Carter is scribbling down some notes in her mission folder. Something to do with the coordinates, no doubt. Teal'c has walked to the observation window and is staring out at the Stargate. Daniel is slouched down in his seat, staring at nothing. I look from one to another. I know it was a terrible nightmare, but I can't shake the feeling that if I take my eyes off of my teammates, they'll disappear.

* * *

"You will tell me what I want to know," the commander's steely voice demands as he stand over me, gaze boring down into my eyes from where I kneel on the floor, hands bound behind me. 

"Go to hell." My witty reply might have been more convincing in a stronger voice, but hours of screaming has left it little more than a rasp. 

"Since you seem reluctant to give me the information I require, I will have to turn to another means to get it." With those chilling words, the commander nods to one of his subordinates. That man opens a door. Four hulking soldiers lead Teal'c into the chamber of horrors I have called home for the past two days. Without a word, they force him to his knees and chain him to a post driven into the stone floor. He looks straight into my eyes and gives me a nod. Chained and gagged, he exudes quiet confidence. 

The commander steps behind him, placing black gloved hands on his shoulders. His eyes lock with mine. "Tell me what I want to know or your companion dies." 

"I've told you, I don't know anything about your dirty little war. We aren't spies. We aren't from here." Desperation colors my voice as I try to get through to him. 

"That is not the correct answer." 

"I can't tell you what I don't know!" 

With a signal, he steps back. A solider takes something from a rack on the wall. It is a long, wickedly curved blade. The soldier takes his time adjusting his grip, then suddenly swings it toward Teal'c. 

"No!" I scream as the blade arcs through the air. It cuts through flesh and bites into the post. With a spray of blood, Teal'c's body slumps to the floor while his head flies backward. It lands at the feet of the commander. Not once does he take his eyes off me. 

"Tell me what I want to know," his cold voice repeats the demand. 

"You son-of-a-bitch!" 

"Tell me what I want to know." 

"Shit, shit, shit." I close my eyes, trying to block out the reality of the situation. My teammate is dead. Not even Junior can fix this. 

"Tell me what I want to know. You still have two teammates left. Shall I have the other male brought in?" 

I look up at that. "We don't know anything!" I'm not sure he hears me. I don't think he's actually listening. He nods to the soldiers in the room. They haul the body out, taking the head as well. Another brings in a hose and washed the floor down. Cold, pink-tinged water soaks into the knees of my fatigues. All the while I feel the commander's eyes on me. 

A soldier leaves, returning with others leading Daniel. He gives me a grim smile as they take him to the other side of the room. 

"No," I plead. "There's no need for this. We aren't spies. We don't know anything. Let us go and we'll leave. We'll never come back. You're safe from us, just let us go." 

The commander doesn't answer. He doesn't watch as his men strap Daniel spread eagle to a metal slab leaning against the far wall. I can hear his voice, talking to the soldiers trying to persuade them we're no threat. They secure him so that he can't move, then one of the soldiers takes a device from the table on the other side of the slab. While another man forces Daniel's jaws open, the device is inserted into his mouth. He fights, but he is pinned down. The soldier presses a button on the side of the device. Daniel arches, a gurgling scream bursting out from around the thing in his mouth. The device is removed. Daniel's eyes are shut tight, fists clench as he gags on his own blood. The bastards have cut out his tongue. 

"Tell me what I want to know," the commander demands again. 

"What do you want me to say? You want a confession? Okay, I confess. Anything. Just stop this. Let him go." 

"Tell me what I want to know." 

"I'll tell you everything, just let him go." 

The commander nods to his men. One takes a long thin blade from the table. He begins cutting. Green cloth is discarded. Pale vulnerable flesh is exposed to the hovering blade. 

"Tell me what I want to know." 

The blade descends. Red lines appear. I babble. I lie. I rant. I beg. I plead, promise, whimper. Anything to make it stop. To stop that flashing blade. To stop the incessant demand for information I don't possess. To stop the sound of the garbled screams of my friend as he is slowly vivisected in front of me. 

It seems like days before they finish killing him. Finally the soldiers unstrap the still limbs and shove the remains into a bag. They drag it from the room. Another brings in the hose and washes the blood-drenched slab and floor. 

"Bring in the woman." 

"No, no! No! I'll tell you anything you want to know! Please, God, don't!" 

Carter is brought in, hands bound behind her. She gives me a brave smile, ignoring the dried blood, vomit, the vivid bruises and fresh tears. I can't look at her. I fix my gaze on the floor. I hear the dispassionate voice of the commander in my ear. 

"Tell me what I want to know." 

"Yes. I'll tell you everything." 

"Colonel, no!" Carter's shrill protest pieces my heart. I can hear her struggle against her guards. I drag my gaze to my tormentor. He is staring at me, waiting. 

"I'll tell you everything." I mean it. I put every ounce of conviction I have into that statement. He has to believe me. For a long, long minute he stares into my eyes. I will him to accept the sincerity in my words. 

He nods to the soldiers. 

Carter's death takes less time than Daniel's, but it is more violent, much more brutal. Even with my eyes shut tight, my head bowed to the cold stones, I can't block out the sounds as man after man takes her body. I hear the sounds of tearing cloth, grunts and screams, the smack of flesh on flesh. The end came with the snapping of her neck. I heard her body being dragged out of the room. Through it all, the commander stood over me. In the sudden silence, my sobbing is horribly loud. 

"Return him unarmed to the place where he was captured." The commander's voice shocks me into looking up. The damn bastard is smiling. 

"What?" 

"Go back and tell your masters that we do not tolerate spies in our midst." He turns on his heel and leaves. I am grabbed from behind by two soldiers and dragged out of the room. 

This has to be some sort of trick. How can they kill my team and leave me alive? No! You can't do this! 

No!

* * *

"I'm going to go work in the computer lab before heading home." Carter's voice snaps my attention back to the here and now. 

"Oh, okay. Do that, but Carter, make sure you get some rest. That's an order, by the way." 

"Yes, sir." She forces a smile as she picks up her folder and heads out. 

"I must return to my quarters to complete Kel-No-Reem." 

"Good night, Teal'c. See you in the morning." He nods to me. 

Daniel looks up at him as he goes. After a quick glance my way, he is up on his feet, too. 

"Daniel, it looks like it's just you and me. Want to go to my place tonight, order in a pizza, knock back a few beers?" 

"Thanks, but I, um, I think I'd rather go home and do a little reading. 

I'll see you tomorrow." He practically dashes out of the room. 

Looks like it is just me tonight then. Great. 

The next morning I am feeling nothing like refreshed. I gave up trying to sleep after four hours of tossing and turning, rehashing the nightmare over and over. A lot of strong coffee, a cold shower, some Visine, and hey . . . it's a new day. 

"Morning, Teal'c. How's it going?" I clap the big guy on the back as I fall into step with him. I'd been heading to my office when I saw him walking down the corridor, book in hand. 

"It is going very well, O'Neill." 

"Where're you headed?" 

"I am going to Daniel Jackson's office to return this text." 

"What is it?" He holds the spine up for me to see. "The Fall And Rise of The Roman Empire. Cool. You ought to borrow a copy of Ben Hurr next. Better yet, come over to my place and we'll rent the movie. Great chariot race." 

He cocks an eyebrow at me, but he doesn't say anything. The prospect of going to my empty office is unappealing, so I go with him to Daniel's. Unfortunately, Daniel's office empty as well. Teal'c lays the book on the cluttered desk, next to a tottering pile of folders and reports. We both linger, eyeing the collection of artifacts that fill every available space. Neither of us seems willing to leave just yet. 

"Maybe Daniel's gone for coffee. We could check the cafeteria, you know, let him know where you left the book." 

"Will he not see the book on his desk when he returns?" 

"That depends. As long as it isn't buried under a paper avalanche or the janitorial crew decide they just can't stand it anymore and come in to clean this office. . ." 

Casting a look around the stuffed shelves beside him, Teal'c nods in agreement. We amble to the cafeteria. No archeologist in sight. Not ready to give up, we wander on. Without meaning to, we find ourselves near the Astrophysics lab. Hiding the feeling of relief that washes over me at hearing Daniel and Carter's voices, I shove my hands in my pockets and slouch through the door with Teal'c on my heels. 

"Morning, kids. How did we rest last night?" 

"Fine." 

"Great, sir. How about you?" 

"Like a baby, Carter." 

"I placed your copy of The Rise And Fall Of The Roman Empire on your desk, Daniel Jackson. It was a most interesting book. Thank you." 

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have several others on the topic if you want to read different viewpoints." 

Teal'c inclined his head. Carter hands me a mug of coffee. I snag a stool next to Daniel. There's a pile of paperwork waiting for me on my desk, but right now I need to sit here, drink coffee, and listen to the animated voices of my team. 

"What are you working on?" Teal'c asks as he examines the data sheets spread across the table. 

"MALP data from P4S-991. The preliminary readings suggest unusual radiation." 

"There's evidence of a primitive civilization." Daniel waves a blown-up photograph from the data. He leans against me in order to pass it to Teal'c. Glancing at me, he abruptly pulls away. This is starting to get on my nerves. Very deliberately I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder. I give it a squeeze and leave my hand there. He shifts uncomfortably under the pressure. 

"Will General Hammond assign this planet to SG-1 for a survey?" Teal'c asks, laying the photograph back on the table. 

"It's too early to say if a team will go through. I need to get a handle on the radiation situation first," Carter answers. 

I'm not really listening to them. I'm watching Daniel. He turns to me, looking directly into my eyes. I wonder what it is he's seeing? Whatever it is, he seems reassured. I feel him relax under my hand. He smiles at me and I know it's okay to let go of his shoulder. 

"If a civilization of humans exist on this planet, how great can the radiation danger be?" Teal'c asks. 

"We don't know. That's just it. They might have adapted to the radiation over the centuries so that it doesn't adversely affect them, but it might be very dangerous for us." 

Carter hunches forward over the table, her grip on the mug handle so tight I'm surprised it doesn't snap off. "Or it could be this radiation is something new to the environment. It could be killing the current population. For all we know they could be dying of radiation poisoning as we speak. We have to have more information. It isn't safe until we know more about what is going on." 

"Carter." She looks up at me, eyes wide. "It's okay. We can go when it's settled. Nothing says it has to be today. Everyone here trusts your judgment, so relax. That's an order." 

"Yes, sir," she says as she eases back onto her stool. She gives me one of her brilliant smiles and salutes me with her coffee mug. 

"Anybody else hungry? I could use some eggs and bacon." I put my mug down and fondly look around the table at the faces of my team. 

"Pancakes would be good," Daniel nods. 

"Sure, I didn't eat anything earlier. I was caught up in examining the MALP data." 

"Cafeteria it is," I say. 

Teal'c and Carter resume their radiation discussion as we file out of the lab. I hang back with Daniel. We walk a ways in a comfortable silence. 

"So, Jack," Daniel says as we stop for the elevator, "Sam and I are going to a new Thai restaurant tonight. You want to come with us? I hear they serve a killer spicy octopus. I bet you'd really enjoy it." 

"Me, eat spicy octopus? In your dreams, Daniel."


End file.
